'jesus wept' is one of the most well known verses in the whole bible, and yet the purpose of it being in there is often overlooked. to me, this verse holds a lot of weight, because it's through this very verse that we're able to see Christ's ability, and willingness, to associate with our pain.

let me take a brief second to set the story up for you.

a man named lazarus got sick and died, and as expected, his sisters, mary and martha, were in mourning. not only that, but they were frustrated with Christ's, in their opinion, inaction, even though he knew the outcome all along. [check out the story for yourself in john 11:1-44]

let's pick up the story in verse 32.

"when mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

vs 33: "when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled".

and three verses later comes the most overly memorized scripture in the whole bible: "jesus wept".

according to verse four, Christ knew that his sickness wouldn't result in death, so why weep?

because, get this, he was moved by compassion for mary and martha and felt their pain. and you know something? he feels yours, too.

to the robsons, he weeps with you.

to anyone else who is feeling insurmountable pain, or any one of you who find yourself crying yourself to sleep at night for whatever reason, he weeps with you, too.

it doesn't take the pain away, i know. but it helps. at least i hope it does.

and if it doesn't, i'm banking on the below promise for you tonight; i'm banking on it for us.

"God is close to the broken hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit" [psalm 34:18]